


You Are the Star in My Sky

by gonnaflynow



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Snuggling, Stargazing, eruri - Freeform, these two dumb old men just care about each other so much ugh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-01
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-07 01:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1879662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gonnaflynow/pseuds/gonnaflynow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Beautiful</i>, Erwin thought, <i>and far too much like our soldiers</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Are the Star in My Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Random fluff drabble thing that I wrote while delusional at 4:30am at a cute boy's vacation house. Hope you enjoy.
> 
> [snk-sexual](http://snk-sexual.tumblr.com) @ tumblr

The 45th Expedition of the Scouting Legion had stopped for the night in a long-abandoned town, many of the buildings thankfully spared from the titans and in more than suitable condition for a shelter for the night. The lights in the homes were all out, all but one at the base of a small hill. This was where Erwin had been, wide awake and plotting the course for the next day, when a swift shadow gliding past the window drew his attention. Through the rippled glass, he could make out a small figure wrapped in a cloak ascending the ridge. When they finally reached the top, they stood for a moment with their back towards the town and slowly sank to the ground, knees drawing in and shoulders slumping down.

Erwin would recognize that gait anywhere. 

Grabbing his own jacket and cloak to keep away the chill night air, Erwin dimmed his lantern just enough to be able to pick out his house from the rest and mounted the hill, approaching from the side so as not to startle the man at the top. 

"Fine night," Erwin remarked, seating himself with a quiet groan as his knees popped traitorously. 

"Couldn't sleep," Levi grumbled, head resting in his hands. 

"Any reason?"

"Don't wanna talk about it."

Erwin nodded, stretching his legs out on the grassy knoll and sliding another inch to the right to, hopefully, share in some of Levi's body warmth. 

"Do you think there are other worlds out there? Ones not caught in as much of a shitstorm as ours?" Levi lifted his hand, tracing the outline of the moon with two fingers. "I wonder if maybe there’s one where the dead go. Maybe several, depending on if you fucked up too badly or not."

Erwin paused, thoughtful. "Back in the days before the Walls, my father told me, people used to believe many things were possible after death. Some believed in heaven and hell, strictly, and had to live by a set of rules to be allowed access to the former."

"Sounds like a load of shit. Rules are for people who haven't seen the world, who have sticks up their asses and refuse to pull them out."

"That's one way of looking at it." Erwin laughed softly, the sound doing more to warm Levi than his thin cloak and jacket. "Others believed in reincarnation, that everyone lived in a constant cycle of birth and death. A few even thought that humans could come back as animals, and vice versa." He hummed softly, drawing his cloak more tightly around him and laying his hand next to Levi's in the damp grass. "I wonder what kind of animals we would be, if we were to be reborn?"

"You would fucking ask that, you weirdo," Levi scoffed, giving Erwin a light punch on the arm. "One thing's for sure, you'd probably be a cow, a big fat one, just to counter all the thinking and planning and higher-order shit you did in this life." Erwin laughed louder this time, the sound echoing down the hill. "Or maybe a dog. One of those fancy purebred ones who trains their owners, not the other way around."

"Perhaps," Erwin smiled. "And you?"

"It might not be so bad to be a house pet," Levi mused, eyes sliding shut. "Having people fuss over you all day, always having food and a comfortable bed to sleep in..." He trailed off, refusing to get stuck in the rut of his past. That life was no longer. 

Erwin sensed his discomfort and gently draped his right arm around Levi's shoulders, pulling him closer despite his soft noise of dissent. 

"The stars are kind of depressing, you know?" said Levi, eyes glassy. "They all will blink out one day, all of a sudden, no matter if they're huge or so small you can barely see them."

 _They're beautiful_ , Erwin thought, _and far too much like our soldiers._

"That's one way to put it," he said quietly. "But I think you can say they all had a life well-lived, no matter how short. Even the big ones, who burn out more quickly from their brightness, bring more joy into our lives for their effort. Nothing goes to waste."

Levi stilled under Erwin’s touch. "I hope we won’t either… go to waste. I don't want to think my inevitable death at the hands of one of those things was for nothing."

"We can only keep pushing forward," Erwin whispered, "and holding the wish for freedom close to our hearts."

Levi went quiet for a moment, the air charged with apprehension, before tentatively closing the gap between them and leaning against the right side of Erwin's body, head coming to a cautious rest on his shoulder. Erwin hummed, gently rubbing Levi’s upper arm and inviting him to take what he needed.

Levi refused to speak after that, and a short while later, Erwin discovered it was because he had fallen asleep.

He had seen Levi asleep many times, that was certain – he often passed out on Erwin’s couch, trying to keep him company while the commander filled out paperwork, or curled in the corner of an abandoned castle while on an expedition – but this was the first time he had seen Levi missing a furrowed brow or a scowl. Erwin had always assumed it was the price of being Humanity’s Strongest. Perhaps he was wrong.

Erwin was overcome with a sudden wave of tenderness, the feeling settling heavily in his stomach and the front of his head as he watched Levi sleep. Though he didn’t want to disturb the captain’s fragile, newfound peace, necessity kicked in as he realized he had to finish his papers. He also, to his chagrin, had no idea which home Levi had claimed, and it would be nearly impossible to find out without waking him. 

His decision was quick. With a light touch, he lifted Levi off the ground and began the trek down the hill, cradling his head in the crook of his arm. Miraculously, by the time he reached his own house, Levi had still not stirred, instead curling closer to Erwin’s core, one hand lightly grasping at the hem of his cloak. Erwin laid Levi out on the bed, unfastening his own cloak and using it as a makeshift blanket to cover all of Levi’s body save for his feet. With a final glance, he returned to his papers, dimming the lantern as low as it would go without sacrificing his eyesight. 

The dawn was drawing closer by the time Erwin had finished drafting, but a few hours remained where he could give into the fatigue that tugged at his eyelids. With a sigh, he removed his gear straps and bolo tie, piling them neatly beside the desk, and after a moment of hesitation, slipped into the left half of the double bed just opposite the soundly-sleeping Levi. The presence of another body was warmth enough for him, and it didn’t take long for Erwin to follow his captain into slumber, drooping blue eyes memorizing the lines of his face as the world drifted away.

 


End file.
